GOV games go global

When His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council launched the Gov Games at the beginning of March this year, one of the future goals for expanding the world-first initiative was to invite international participation in future editions of the competition. Organisers announced that this goal has already been achieved in the inaugural competition, which is a testament to its unique and visionary nature, and the international attention it has garnered.

The international teams from seven countries will join more than 150 teams from local and federal government entities across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the Gov Games from 9 – 12 May at Kite Beach in Dubai. The addition of these international players will only add to the healthy competition and comradery as teams get set to take on a specially-designed obstacles course that will test the mental, physical, and teamwork capacities of competing teams.

International teams

Teams representing their nations include the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the London Metropolitan Police Service, the Los Angeles Police Department, the embassies of United States and the United Kingdom to the UAE, the Royal Thai Police, the Government of Canada, Egypt and the government of Niger State, Nigeria.

Director of Gov Games, Marwan bin Essa says;

“Only a few weeks ago, we announced that the number of teams participating in the first Gov Games was double that that was anticipated when we started planning for the games. Now we can reveal that international teams will be flying to Dubai to take part in the competition – something we had initially envisioned for the 2019 Gov Games. I believe that a primary reason for our success thus far is the vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, which is to create a world-first initiative that transcends geographies and borders. The key messages of team work and team spirit, excellent communication, dedication and determination are values which all governments entities across the globe share.

There will of course only be one winning men’s and women’s team for the entire competition; with each winning a million dirahms in prize money.”

Assistant Secretary General of the Dubai Sports Council, Nasser Al Rahma said, “The participation of these international teams is a sign of support and unity for the initiative of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council. The addition of the international teams will only strengthen the interest we have seen from both participants and supporters across the UAE, and will give more meaning to the winning teams’ victory. It will also unite players from all around the world as they compete in the first ever Gov Games. The Dubai Sports Council is proud to continue pushing forward this initiative.”

The Executive Council will continue to oversee the organisation of the Gov Games in partnership with the Dubai Sports Council and Meraas as the official sponsor. More details on the initiative are available on www.govgames.ae.